4th of July - The Date Part One
by Annie0801
Summary: Follow up piece about Tris and Eric's date from 4th of July. What adventures await the couple? OOC. UA - No war. Rated M for mature scenes. All rights to VR. Part Two is now posted.


**Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I was flattered by the overwhelming response I got to the original story and several requests for a follow up piece on their date. Here is part one. I hope you enjoy it. A huge thank you to** **Damn you Kylie** **for her help in co-writing this with me. As always, all rights to Veronica Roth. She created fabulous characters that I love to play with. I look forward to your reviews!**

An hour later Eric stood in front of Tris' door. He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly as he knocked on her door. He figured he needed to show just how serious he was for their date, therefore he arranged to pick Tris up from her apartment rather than meet at the train tracks.

The hour had moved so quickly as he still could not believe his luck that Tris was willing to take him up on the offer of a date, had even made reference to their being a second date. Most of his time had been standing in front of his wardrobe trying to figure out what to wear. He knew he needed to appear relaxed as the setting for the day was casual. Finally settling on a button-down short sleeved shirt and his swim trunks, with a backpack slung over his shoulder, he patiently waited for Tris to answer her door.

His eyes closed and ears filled with the sound of rushing blood from the increased beating of his heart, he didn't hear Tris open her door. Only after Tris placed her hand on his arm, did her presence finally register itself to his addled brain. After forcing his eyes to focus on her, his jaw dropped open at the sight before him. Tris was dressed in an off the shoulder Boho style top with spaghetti straps and boy short styled bikini swim bottoms. Her hair was tied up into a messy bun with a few strays framing her face. Eric had never seen a more beautiful sight than Tris at that moment. She glowed with enthusiasm for their date.

Tris couldn't contain her giggle at Eric's expression as she placed her fingers under his chin and gently pushed upwards to close his mouth. She stepped towards him until their bodies were flush against each other and gently pressed her cheek to his. "Be careful or else you might swallow a fly," she whispered into his ear before placing a kiss on the corner of his mouth.

All of the blood in his body suddenly pooled into one particular organ in reaction to the feel of Tris' body against his. Eric willed his stiffening cock to suppress itself. Unfortunately for him, it had a mind of its own and refused to cooperate. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he moaned when Tris' small hand stroked his budding erection over his swim trunks. He swallowed, attempting to moisten his sudden cottonmouth. All he could manage to utter was, "S-Sorry."

"Don't be," Tris replied with a pleased expression on her face, "I'm not." as she gave one last squeeze before removing her hand. She was extremely delighted with herself at her ability to elicit such a response from Eric's body. She smiled at him again before she picked up her backpack and walked out the door, closing it behind her. She extended her hand to Eric who was still in a daze at the boldness of Tris' actions. "Come on, we don't want to miss our train."

Eric could only dumbly nod in agreement, as the blood his brain so desperately needed to form any coherent words was still being greedily sucked up by his still rock-hard manhood. He quickly adjusted himself to relieve some pressure and followed Tris to the elevator banks.

oOoOoOoOoOo

As they waited by the train tracks, Eric brushed a stray tendril of hair behind her ear. Tris blushed at the gesture. Eric smiled, "I meant to tell you before I got…um…distracted. You look gorgeous."

"Thank you," Tris replied, her blush returning at his compliment. Although she was Dauntless enough to touch Eric so boldly in front of her apartment, Tris still had enough Abnegation within to blush at the compliment that Eric had given her.

The train appeared in the distance and began to slow upon its arrival at Dauntless. As it began to pass, they took off running alongside. Eric jumped on first then turned around and offered his hand to Tris and pulled her into the car. They took a seat along the edge of the boxcar, their shoulders rubbing together and feet dangling. It turned out to be another sweltering day in Chicago, they enjoyed the breeze that the train's speed offered. As they neared the city's downtown area, they caught glimpses of the decorations that adorned International Park. Once the train stopped at Central Station, Eric and Tris hopped off and walked hand-in-hand towards the festivities.

For the first time in Tris' life, she was finally able to attend the event as a spectator rather than a worker. Abnegation and Amity always volunteered to serve the food and drinks and help with maintaining peace and security throughout the day. Being the daughter of the one of Abnegation's leaders always meant Tris was obligated to work rather than enjoy the day like members of the other factions were allowed. That was the reason why Tris was so melancholy about the sudden change of plans she originally had with Christina. Luckily, Eric stepped up and made her an offer she couldn't refuse.

Eric noticed the excitement in Tris' eyes as she took in the scene before her. He was also aware that this was her first time attending the fireworks show where she didn't have a duty to uphold and could enjoy herself as a guest. He was pleased that he could share it with her.

Eric tugged on Tris' hand to get her attention and asked, "Are you hungry?"

"Starved," she replied as she rubbed her tummy to emphasize the point.

There were several options available to them from ala carte items to pre-packed picnic baskets. They opted for the picnic basket with turkey and roast beef sandwiches, potato salad, assorted fresh veggies, fruits, chips and cherry pie for dessert. Eric went to grab drinks while Tris scoped out a spot for them to sit down and relax.

Tris spotted a shady spot near the fountain. They made their way over and once there, Eric laid out one of the blankets from his backpack. Tris opened the picnic basket and placed the food in the center while Eric opened the drinks and arranged a plate, napkin and silverware for each of them. Once everything was situated, they filled their plates and ate their food.

Even though they worked together every day, they knew little about each other's personal history so Tris suggested they play twenty questions to get to know each other better. Her curious mind excited at the prospect of what she would learn about him.

Tris started the game with the first question. "Let's start with something easy such as your favorite color?"

"Blue, like the ocean. Yours?"

"Steel grey," Tris replied, blushing. It was the color of Eric's eyes. Eric chocked on his drink, but quickly recovered and smiled as he realized what the color referred to. "Favorite hobby?"

"Reading."

Tris rolled her eyes to his predictable answer.

"Sorry," Eric replied sheepishly when he noticed Tris' reaction. "It's ingrained in me."

Feeling remorseful for making fun of his answer, Tris placed her hand on his arm. "No, I'm sorry. I should not mock you for giving an honest answer." Eric placed his hand on top hers and squeezed it to let her know he forgave her.

Summoning up all her courage, Tris decided it was time to lay all her cards on the table. "I want to get to know the real Eric. I want to know the things that no one else has the privilege of knowing. I've really grown to care for you, Eric. I want explore what the future might hold for us, if that's what you want too."

Eric was beyond ecstatic at Tris' confession. He knew that their relationship had evolved over the last few months from acquaintances to friends but he wasn't sure how deep her feelings were towards him. He could see a future with Tris and he was more than ready to explore it with her as well. He never imagined that she could be feeling the same way.

Eric raised his arm and cradled his palm against her cheek. "That's exactly what I want too, Tris."

Tris nuzzled into his warm, calloused hand and blinked back the tears that threatened to fall at the joy she felt at his want of the same thing. "Tell me a favorite hobby of yours that no one else knows."

"I like to sketch. I have several portfolios in my apartment." Feeling extremely vulnerable, Eric took in a deep, nervous breath before he asked his next question. "Would you like to see them someday?"

A huge smile erupted on Tris' face at Eric's willingness to share such an intimate part of himself up to her. She knew it was not any easy task for him to do. "Yes, I would love to see them, but only when _you_ are ready to show me."

Eric agreed. He was pleased that she understood him well enough to not push him to share something so private with her until he felt comfortable. "Your turn. Same question."

"I think it's safe to say that everyone knows I like to draw but I've never told anyone that I like to write short stories."

The blush on her cheeks told Eric that she was insecure about her work. Trying to ease her mind, he asked, "What kind of stories?"

Tris chewed her bottom lip in between her teeth while she gently traced patterns on Eric's arm, as she summoned her courage to share this part of herself with him. "Children's stories," she paused, "I know they wouldn't be anything that you would be interested in reading but maybe you could read one or two and tell me your thoughts about it."

"I would be honored to read anything you have written. I'm sure they are fantastic."

"Thanks," she replied shyly.

"I believe the next question is yours," Eric prompted.

"Do you miss you family in Erudite?"

"Yes, and no."

Tris simply cocked an eyebrow. "I never expected such an antithesis from you, Mr. Coulter."

"Antithesis?" Eric chuckled at her choice of vocabulary. "Sometimes I forget Erudite was one of the results on your aptitude test."

"Just trying to make a good impression upon you." Tris replied with a smirk that could rival one of Eric's.

Eric returned the smirk as he grabbed Tris around the waist, lifted her up and placed her between his legs. "Trust me when I say you don't have to work at it because I am already impressed with everything about you," he purred into her ear before unabashedly grazing his eye over her from head to toe, lingering on the hint of cleavage exhibited by her supple breasts and licking his lips as he took in the junction between her thighs.

"Now to elaborate. Yes, I miss my brothers and sister but no because I never had a close relationship with my parents so their absence from my life has had very insignificant impact on me."

"I just assumed you were an only child. Tell me about your brothers and sister."

"I have two brothers and one sister. There is a 10-year difference between my oldest brother, Evan, and myself. Elijah is just one year younger than Evan. But, there is only a two-year difference between me and my little sister, Emily. I was the closest to Emily since we were so close in age but I still had a strong relationship with Evan and Eli."

"What's your favorite memory with them?"

Eric didn't have to think long on his answer. "It would have to be Christmas. My parents are doctors so they were always busy with their research. They had very little time to spend with us, especially during the holidays. Emily and I were just toddlers so we couldn't understand why our parents weren't around. Evan and Eli saw how disappointed we were so they took it upon themselves to make Christmas special for us." Eric pause for a few moments as he reflected on those happy times. "The first memory I have is when I was four years old. Every year Evan and Eli would bring home a Christmas tree. They would sit down with Emily and myself and we would make our own decorations. Evan would make us hot cocoa and we then would take turns decorating the tree. Every year after that we would each make one new decoration to add to the tree. That's why I'm even more _difficult_ around the holidays. It just reminds me of my family."

Tris reached out and took Eric's hand into hers and placed a soft kiss on it before placing it against her chest, over her heart. She could see how difficult it was for Eric to talk about his family.

"Are they still in Erudite?" she asked.

Eric blinked back the tears in his eyes before answering. "Evan and Eli both stayed in Erudite. Evan is a teacher at the central high school. He married his high school sweetheart, Elizabeth, and they have two children, Everett and Elliott."

"Wow, does your family has a tradition of naming their children with an 'E'?" Tris asked.

"Not an official tradition but I think it is becoming one. Both of my parent's names also begin with an 'E'."

"What about Eli and Emily?"

"Eli hasn't married yet. He's very dedicated to his research in neuro-biology. I think he's refrained from getting into any serious relationships because of how little involvement our parents had in our lives due to their research, he doesn't want to subject his family to the same fate. As for Emily, she transferred to Amity during her choosing ceremony. She always had such a free spirit and loved to dance, play the guitar and sing songs. We used to tease her about Mother and Father bringing home the wrong baby from the hospital. Everyone could tell as soon as they looked into her eyes that she had the heart and soul of an Amity. She's very happy there. She's still single but has been dating a young man by the name of Jacob for quite a while. I suspect there will be wedding bells in the future."

"You were very lucky to have such a close relationship with your brothers and sister."

"I was. How about you? I already know both your parents but do you have any siblings?"

"I have a brother, Caleb. He transferred to Erudite the same year I transferred to Dauntless."

"I didn't know you had a twin?" Eric asked.

"I don't. Caleb is 10 months older than me. Because his birthday fell just past the cut-off date for the choosing ceremony, we ended up in the same year."

Eric nodded his head in understanding how they came to be in the same year. "Were you close?"

"Not really. As you can imagine from my test results, I struggled to conform with living as an Abnegation. My brother, however, was the model child of an Abnegation leader. He would chastise me when I failed to comply like he did, so there was a lot of resentment between us. I don't think Abnegation's teachings helped us to ever bond."

Eric cupped her face in the palm of his hand and gently stroked her cheek with his thumb. He understood the meaning in her words. Abnegation children were taught from a young age to be selfless, not leaving much room for them to play and interact with their siblings on a more personal level. If it wasn't for his brothers he may have had a similar upbringing, with the clinical way the Erudite analyze everything. "I'm sorry you didn't have good relationship with him."

"Me, too." Tris said, while cradling Eric's hand on her cheek with her own. Remembering the years she had spent in Abnegation, always wanting more but not understanding what is was until she left.

oOoOoOoOoOo

The summer's heat continued assault upon the city prompted the couple to satiate their sweltering bodies by taking a swim. Eric stood up and offered his hands to Tris. Once on her feet, she slipped her hand into his and entwined their fingers together. They passed by several street vendors on their way to the pool, stopping at a few that piqued their interest. Eric impressed Tris with his aiming skills by winning her a stuffed rabbit playing Balloon Pop. They made colorful animal shapes at Sand Art and won a bag of cotton candy playing Knock Down. Tris played Soda Toss and won a goldfish they named Nemo and deemed it their first pet as an official couple.

When they arrived at the pool they found a spot for their towels and backpacks. Deciding to take the opportunity to tease Eric, Tris purposely bent over at the waist to take off her shoes, giving Eric a booty shot. Her actions caught his attention because when she turned around, Eric was frozen in the middle of slipping a button through its hole on his shirt, his eyes were as wide as saucers and his mouth hanging open once again. Tris continued teasing him as she stroked her fingers on the bare flesh peeking out between her top and swim bottoms before she gripped the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head, letting it drift to the ground. She noticed Eric's tongue darting out to wet his lips as he watched her fingers skim a path on her skin from her neck to the valley between her breasts then circling her navel before coming to a rest on her hip. A move Christina had shown her, trying to help her friend to become more confident about her body and just what she could achieve with such a move. She could see that it was working as his eyes continued to roam over her body, causing a surge of heat to erupt between Tris' thighs.

Tris felt an immediate need to quench the burn from Eric's searing gaze. She walked backwards, away from him, gesturing with her index finger to follow her into the water. Unable to do anything but obey Tris' command, he ripped his shirt from his body and the buttons flew around him. Tris did all that she could not to show just how impressed she was with a shirtless Eric. The tight shirts that the Dauntless men wore never left much to the imagination but watching as he moved his chiseled body towards her, she couldn't help but to gasp at the sight. A grin from ear to ear slowly emerged on his face as he prowled towards her. Tris heard a low growl emanate from his throat as he approached. The sound only heightened the sensation between her thighs and forced her to rub them together to relieve the building pressure. The movement caught Eric's attention and it pleased him to be able to elicit such a reaction from her.

Once he stood in front of her, Eric raised his hands and cupped Tris' face. He slowly leaned in, pausing to give her a chance to turn away. When he saw her glance between his eyes and his mouth, he knew that this was the opportunity he needed to finally do what he had only been dreaming of doing for the last few months, so he closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to hers. Immediately upon their lips connecting, Tris felt every nerve ending in her body come alive with an ardor she had never experienced before when kissing someone, it wasn't anything like when she had kissed Four. While Four had been caring and loving she always felt that he was holding something back but with Eric, oh with Eric, she felt like he was pouring his soul into their kiss. Eric pulled back enough to see Tris' reaction. If the stunned look on her face was any indication, it appeared she felt the same passion burning within her. When he felt her thread her fingers into his hair and gently tug his face towards her, he took the hint she was giving him and leaned back in to kiss her again. Tris ran her tongue over the seam of his lips, silently asking for permission to enter. Eric immediately responded by opening his lips, allowing her to explore the depths of his mouth. Not wanting to scare her away, he allowed Tris to control the kiss. He still remembered her fear landscape and while she had been nothing but bold today he didn't want to risk this moment with her. Eric moaned as their tongues danced together in a perfect rhythm. All too soon for either of their liking, they pulled apart in desperate need of oxygen. Flushed and breathless neither of them could suppress the smiles on their faces from the thrumming they still felt flowing through their bodies. They parted slightly and waded further into the pool to cool down, the heat emanating from both their bodies had them wanting more but realizing that this was not the appropriate setting for such endeavors. Instead they enjoyed the coolness of the water as they laughed and frolicked, forgetting the responsibilities they have back in Dauntless, acting like the young couple they are, who just happen to be falling in love.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Eric's arm rested possessively around Tris' shoulders while hers wrapped in a similar fashion around his hips as they made their way back towards the fountain to find a spot to watch the fireworks. Too absorbed by each other, they were oblivious to the people around them until a familiar high-pitched squeal that could only belong to one person, broke them from their reverie. They cringed at the shrill sound. They conceded defeat once they realized they had no path of escape and walked towards the source, Christina.


End file.
